Cats, Rebels expect test of aggression in second round

UK's Doron Lamb came down hard to the floor after leaping for a pass in the first half of the Kentucky vs. Ole Miss basketball game on Tuesday, Feb 1, 2011 in Oxford, Mississippi. At right is Ole Miss' Chris Warren. Photo by David Perry | Staff

ATLANTA — After reminding reporters how Mississippi had the physical advantage in the regular-season game, Kentucky Coach John Calipari painted Friday's rematch in the Southeastern Conference Tournament as a gauge of UK's progress.

"This is more about us," Calipari said. "Mississippi is going to play well. Did we get better defensively? Have we gotten tougher? That's why we play these games."

Calipari lamented how often Ole Miss players beat UK off the dribble in the February game in Oxford. Earlier this week, UK's defensive stopper, DeAndre Liggins, took responsibility for Ole Miss senior star Chris Warren torching the Cats for 22 points, including the game-winning jumper.

"Chris Warren got the best of me," Liggins said.

But Calipari said Liggins was not alone. "We could not guard on the dribble at four positions."

"If he starts off well, we can feed off him," Henry said. "If he doesn't get off to a good start, we have a slow start."

Calipari noted how Warren, who is listed at 5-foot-10, can put defenders in poor position.

"He can score and he has deep range," the UK coach said. "Better than that, he's good with the ball and he gets you on his hip."

Kennedy welcomed a largely partisan Kentucky crowd in the Georgia Dome on Friday.

"A fantastic atmosphere," the Ole Miss coach said before adding, facetiously, "They'll probably out-draw us by two or three thousand. ... There's nothing like Kentucky basketball fans. You get a true sense of that in the conference tournament.

"Believe it or not, I think it'll be a great experience. It'll be a Final Four feel. At the end of the day, this is about creating memories. It'll be a great memory, and I hope it's a pleasant one."

And, Kennedy added, "I hope it ends like the first one did."

Warren won that game by rattling in a 26-footer.

"They'll probably look at it as a revenge game," Warren said of the Cats. "Our motive remains the same. It's Kentucky, first of all. Everybody wants to beat Kentucky."

Warren added a second motivation: an NCAA Tournament bid that can only come if the Rebels win the SEC Tournament.

"We're trying to make it to the (NCAA) tournament and we know what we have to do," he said.

Calipari did not concede the motivational high ground to Ole Miss.

"We're playing for stuff, too," he said, presumably meaning the best seed possible for the NCAA Tournament. "It's not as though one team doesn't care and the other does."

Join The Conversation

Lexington Herald-Leader is pleased to provide this opportunity to share
information, experiences and observations about what's in the news.
Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the
newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day,
and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal
comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time
to offer your thoughts.